Geely has officially launched a new car brand during an event in Sweden: Lynk & Co. The brand will focus on young car buyers. It will hit the Chinese car market in late 2017, followed by Europe and North America in 2018/19.

The "Lynk" part of the brand name refers to interconnected cars, where cars are always in connection with each other and other places such as home or the office, and to a ride-sharing program that the company will offer. Under this program customers can book a vehicle when they need one, with ownership remaining at Lynk & Co.

The "&Co" was added to give the name a sort of "young vibe" and has otherwise no meaning. Interestingly, the Chinese name is Lingke (凌克), a sound translation of Lynk, while the "&Co" part was not translated.

CMA platform. Photo by Geely.

The Lynk & Co brand is developed in close collaboration with Volvo, which is owned by Geely. The first line of Lynk & Co cars will be based on the new CMA platform. This platform will also underpin the upcoming Volvo 40-Series, which was previewed by the 40.1 and 40.2 concept cars.

On the marketplace the Lynk & Co brand will be positioned between the Geely and Volvo brands. It is set to compete with "mainstream" brands such as Ford, Hyundai, and Volkswagen.

Lynk & Co 01 interior. Photo by Geely.

The first car of Lynk & Co is the aptly called "01", a rather good looking crossover SUV. It is a semi-concept car, which means that the overall design is fixed but that details might change. The 01 will be available with various power trains, including a 1.5 turbo, a 1.5 turbo plug-in hybrid, a 2.0 turbo, and a full electric.

Price of the 01 on the Chinese market will range from 130,000 to 190,000 yuan ($19,000 – $28,000). In China, Link & Co cars will be sold via a new dealer network, separate from Geely and Volvo. After the 01 SUV Lynk & Co will rapidly launch three other cars: a sedan, a hatchback, and a crossover. All will be based on the CMA platform.

Lynk & Co 01. Photo by Geely.

In North America, the brand will use an entirely new sales model where customers order the car via the internet and the company will deliver it to wherever the buyer is.

A good looking car with new engines and interesting new ideas. Sounds like a promising brand. But one might wonder why they invested all that money and time in a completely new brand instead of spending it on strengthening Geely and Volvo?